


Playing With Fire

by Heedoekbokki



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Blood and Gore, Bloodbending, Broken Bones, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Firebending & Firebenders, Injury, M/M, Waterbending & Waterbenders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 03:40:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8562400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heedoekbokki/pseuds/Heedoekbokki
Summary: After Avatar Korra passed, the White Lotus have been searching desperately for the next Avatar in the Earth Kingdom. The Red Lotus have as well. Seokjin meets a boy in the Spirit World (that claims he can find the Avatar) and vows to hunt down the Avatar and end the Avatar Cycle once and for all.





	

**Author's Note:**

> After marathoning Avatar the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra I decided a BTSxAvatar crossover would be super cool.  
> To anyone reading my BTSxZombie AU, I promise I haven't abandoned it. I'm going to be working on both fics at the same time because I really enjoy doing more than probably possible lol.

> **250 AG**

Jungkook always wore burns. Fire gave him warmth, comfort… pain.

Fire was red like blood, and blood was ever-flowing, the essence of their being. The Red Lotus taught him that. The natural order is disorder. The only way one can be entirely balanced is by letting everything go, but Jungkook couldn’t. The void wasn’t something he ever wanted to step into, but they couldn’t know that. His parents would kill him, the Red Lotus would kill him. He had to let them brainwash him, it was the only way he could stay alive. The only way to fool everyone was to follow the ideals set by Zaheer… become him.

“If you’re going to do it, do it right!” Seokjin screamed. Jungkook cowered back, hugging his hands close to himself. “Like this,” Seokjin moved his arms in the way Jungkook learned, picking up the basics of firebending easily, even though he was a waterbender. Even this more advanced move was a piece of cake for him to follow. “It’s not that hard!” 

“You don’t understand! It isn’t the same!” Jungkook turned away, blinking the tears out of his eyes.

Their parents wanted them to train together, become partners and eventually carry on the legacy of the Red Lotus. There were other children in the base, nicer children that were Jungkook’s age. He was seven and Seokjin was twelve… older and more serious about destroying the Avatar. Jungkook, on the other hand, was too young to understand why the Red Lotus wanted to kill the Avatar. All he heard was his parents talking about murdering a child who wasn’t much older than he was. 

“All you have to do is move the way I’m moving,” Seokjin said.

“You don’t have to bend while you’re doing it!” Jungkook yelled. He regretted the outburst immediately, crying out as the blood in his body boiled. Seokjin dragged him to the ground… bent the water in his body to control him. “I’m sorry! Please, I didn’t mean it!”

Seokjin released him, “I’m surprised your parents haven’t cut out your tongue. Try it again.”

Jungkook caressed his elbow, it was tender after hitting the grass so hard. Jungkook closed his eyes and focused on his breath. He wished he could train with the dragons. Their ferociousness seemed less scary than Seokjin was. Jungkook went through the moves, landing and sending a blast of fire toward Seokjin. 

It was more powerful than he had intended it to be. The fire hit Seokjin’s sleeve and quickly went up in flames. He cried out, and ripped the water from the grass to douse the flames. Jungkook’s eyes were caught on the circle of dead grass. Seokjin just killed it without a second thought. 

“Are you an idiot?” Seokjin charged forward and shoved Jungkook onto the ground with opened palms. “You’re lucky my mom can heal! She’s going to be mad when she finds out you burned me on purpose!” Seokjin stormed off.

“It wasn’t on purpose!” Jungkook slammed his fist into the ground. “If it was on purpose I would have killed you!”

That was a few hours ago. Now, Jungkook was sitting on the grassy hillside of the mountain overlooking Gaoling. He heard that in the past the tall city used to be a small town, but he only ever knew it as the huge, sparkling city he could only ever look at. His parents never let him leave—none of the children were allowed—because they feared Jungkook would blab about the Red Lotus. He buried his face in his knees, shuddering at the strong wind that tore through him.

He knew his parents would come scold him soon. They would tell him the things they always told him. He wasn’t good enough. He was lucky Seokjin tried to help someone so useless. They always looked so disappointed in him—like maybe they would be happier if he was never born. 

“Jungkook.”

His father’s voice always made frost form on his skin. It was deep, unwavering even in the strong wind. Too precise. Too abusive. 

“Seokjin’s parents tell us that you burned him on purpose while trying to master one of your firebending moves. Do you have anything to say?” His father towered over him, casting a shadow over his small frame. Jungkook shook his head. “Stand up then.” Jungkook shook his head again. “Stand up, now.”

“An agni kai,” Jungkook whispered, wobbling to his feet.

“Speak up.”

Jungkook finally looked at his father. His dark hair was slicked back, dark shadows donning his lower eyes, hands clenched in fists. The westerly sun painted a glow around him like fire, burning Jungkook. “If you’re going to burn me, do it in an agni kai!” Jungkook didn’t mean for his voice to come out so forcefully, so shaky, but his words couldn’t be taken back. “If you’re going to do it, do it right,” he breathed.

“So be it,” his father said. 

Jungkook stepped back, taking a fighting stance. It was a battle he knew he would lose before even starting, but Jungkook was tired of taking his father’s abuse without a fight. His father raised his fists. “Do you and mom even love me?” Jungkook asked.

His father didn’t give him an answer, or maybe he didn’t hear him over his attack. Jungkook barely slipped to the side before the fire went by. The flames licked at his skin, the heat lapping him up. His eyes met his father’s. He couldn’t find any emotion in their hue. A ball of fire puffed from his father’s fist, billowing and eating up the oxygen around it. Jungkook jumped and split the fire apart, flinging an attack at his father through the smoke. His father shot fire back at Jungkook before he even finished his attack. 

Another whizzed over Jungkook’s head when he ducked, and he narrowly avoided the next attack when he jumped backwards. Jungkook rolled to the side, sending flames at his father from both hands. Sweat covered his forehead, dripping down his face. His father wasn’t even tired. Jungkook tried to fend him off, but it wasn’t long before a blast of fire hit him to the floor and he was too weak to lift himself back up.

“I didn’t burn him on purpose,” Jungkook said. His father was standing over him with fire ready in his hands. “You care about Seokjin more than you care about me, don’t you?” Jungkook dared to look up at his father, hoping that perhaps his father would see how sad he was, how neglected.

But he didn’t see anything.

The flames engulfed Jungkook’s left arm, eating its way up to his shoulder and nibbling on his neck. Jungkook’s screams echoed off the hills and flew high into the darkening sky. His father let the flames fester before extinguishing them. Jungkook rolled on his right side, tears blurring his vision. 

“Don’t come home tonight,” his father said.

“I’m only seven,” Jungkook wailed, “dad, please!”

He didn’t give Jungkook any indication that he had heard his pleas. Jungkook’s eyes glazed over his blackened skin. The middle of the burn was numb, the rest an unimaginable pain. Jungkook was woozy, and when he managed to raise himself to his feet, the world spun. He had to go somewhere, he didn’t know where but he knew he never wanted to return to the Red Lotus.

He lost touch with himself on his walk. He only realized he was in the city of Gaoling when a boy was shaking him out of his daze. The only thing Jungkook really saw was light blond hair, everything else was a blur. 

“Are you alright?”

“No,” Jungkook said. His voice strained to get out, but once it did the words kept coming. “My father burned me because I made him mad. He’s always so mean to me… I just… try so hard to make him happy, but I’m never good enough. He’s horrible and so is my mom. She doesn’t talk to me,” Jungkook’s tears hurried down his face. “I can never make them happy and I just want to die!” Jungkook dropped his head into his hands, wailing.

“I’m Taehyung,” the boy said. “I don’t really know what you’re going through, but I know that no one deserves that. Will you come with me to the hospital? Your arm looks really bad, and I don’t want you to be alone.”

Jungkook nodded, wiping away his tears uselessly. Taehyung helped him to his feet and looped arms with his good arm. He started talking about a cool earthbending arena he heard about and how his parents banned him from ever going there and how cool it would be to see. He told Jungkook he would sneak in with him after his arm was treated, but Jungkook knew after he was treated he would have to return to the Red Lotus’s base. If he didn’t go back, they would come for him. They wouldn’t stop keeping him prisoner until the Avatar was no more.

  


> **253 AG**

A jolt of pain ripped across the left side of his face, then warmth. Blood streamed down his cheek and flowed down his neck. He rocked back on the balls of his feet, eyeing his opponent—a boy a few years older with black hair and thin muscles. How was his form so clean when he fought so dirty? There was no time to think. He flung his weight to the side to avoid a sharp wall of rock, rolled to his knees and tossed the rocks from the floor with his momentum. His opponent lifted a wall to block the blows. When all his attacks crumbled against the wall, the hard slab shot toward him.

The wall smashed into him, and his breath escaped his lungs. Before hitting the wall behind him, his opponent twisted his hand to make a rock meet the back of his head. _Crack!_ Blackness covered his eyes.

_What am I doing?_

A few weeks ago, his parents were killed. He walked into the house to find nothing but red. Emptiness festered in his entrails. Maybe it hadn’t sunk in yet. He just knew he was hungry, thirsty, lonely.

It was dark.

His palms met the cool stone floor of the arena. Rocks, at least he still had that. His father used to teach him the art of earthbending, the ancient forms… everything. Usually he could see without his eyes like the badgermoles. Now, each vibration made him tremble. The crowd’s cheers made it impossible to focus on the vibrations his opponent made with each step. He felt tears threaten to fall, but he sucked them back and let the battle end. His body was already rebelling against him for pushing itself so hard.

The victory bell went off.

“Once again, Agust D goes UNDEFEATED!” The crowd exploded into cheers.

His vision was still black when someone’s strong hands pulled him from the arena. “Hey, kid, what’s your name? Aren’t you too young to be in the arena?”

“Taehyung,” he mumbled. His vision started to clear, and he met a man with gorgeous green eyes and deep wrinkles. “I’m fourteen. Toph Beifong was only twelve when she fought in the Earth Rumble, you know!”

The man chuckled, “Easy, kid. You put up a good fight, but Agust D might have been going easy on you since you’re just a kid.”

Taehyung wiped the sweat from his brow. Grains of rock rolled over his skin, and he gazed at his hands that were darkened by the dirt. How did that guy fight like that? He moved gracefully even though he was earthbending and his hits were so nasty. Taehyung had to talk to him. He searched through the crowd, catching sight of him before he left the building. “Hey!” Taehyung yelled. His voice was lost in the crowd. The old man tried to convince him to stay put and let him tend to the deep cut on Taehyung’s face, but Taehyung wiggled away.

The other boy was already gone by the time Taehyung shoved through the crowd of people inside. He couldn’t have walked too far away. Taehyung ran down the sidewalk, skidding to a stop when he saw him down an alleyway.

“Hey!” Taehyung’s voice bounced off the walls and the boy turned around to see who was yelling at him. “Wait up,” Taehyung pleaded.

“I don’t have time for autographs,” he muttered.

Taehyung grabbed the boy’s arm, grinning. “I don’t want your autograph. You just kicked my ass in the arena. I want you to teach me how you fight like that!”

The boy shoved Taehyung away from him, “Not interested.”

“What? But you’re so cool! And undefeated! How long have you been having a winning streak? You must have tons of money now. Some pretty wealthy guys bet on the matches. Have you gotten an offer for a sponsor? I bet you would be awesome in the probending arena!” Taehyung was rambling at this point, but once he started, he couldn’t stop. “Please, just one move! What about that weird thing you did with your hand to make that sharp rock hit me on the back of the head? Or how you make all the rocks really sharp!”

“Listen, I’ll give you the winning money if you leave me alone,” he said.

“Really? But, you know, my dad always said that knowledge is more valuable than money, and…” Taehyung froze at the mention of his father. _Oh_. “And…” his vision blurred, and when he blinked, tears spilled from his eyes.

The boy raised an eyebrow, “Did I hurt you that much?”

Taehyung shut his eyes tight, shaking his head. He felt as though fighting in the arena was his way of punishing himself. When he found his parents, the entire house looked as broken as the arena did after a fight. There were rocks scattered throughout their living room, broken glass, but the one image that never left his mind were the scorch marks—how cliché for a firebender to be the culprit. 

After forcing himself to fight so hard, the sudden realization that he would have to return to an orphanage stunned him. He tried to wipe the tears away, cringing when he ran his hand over the cut on his cheek. Taehyung let out a sob.

“Hey, let’s clean your cut and get dinner, okay?” the other boy said. He didn’t wait for Taehyung to respond before walking to the end of the alleyway, “Come on before I change my mind.”

Taehyung chased after the boy, eyes raw from attempting to rub the tears away. They walked down a road with flickering streetlights. No one walked down the street and Taehyung was glad. He was sure he looked like a mess with his runny nose and red eyes, and he was just starting to get a hold of himself when the boy walked into a small restaurant. 

Taehyung peered through the doorway. The boy turned the lights on and the soft glow rippled through the room. The restaurant was longer than it was wide, consisting of a bar with shiny bar stools and a few booths of the side with retro styled finish. There were a bunch of old-timey decorations attached to the wall and even an old Satomobile hanging from the ceiling. Taehyung took a few steps into the restaurant, mouth agape. This was so much better than the orphanage. 

“Yoongi, is that you?” a voice called from upstairs. Footsteps echoed down the stairs and a stout woman emerged from above. She was an old woman with a wrinkly face and wore a long nightgown. She put her hands on her hips, “Who is this?”

“This is…” Yoongi’s voice trailed off when he realized they hadn’t properly introduced themselves to each other.

“Taehyung,” he finished.

The woman frowned, “What happened to your face? Did Yoongi do that to you?”

Taehyung looked over at Yoongi for assurance, but he simply answered for Taehyung. “Yeah, he wanted to fight me in the arena. I won,” he said.

“Let me get my first aid kit,” the woman said. She disappeared for a second, waving Taehyung over when she returned. He sat in the bar stool across from her. He placed his hands in his lap, unsure of what to do with them. The woman smelled like lilac and sweat—though the sweat might have been Taehyung. 

She wet a towel and dabbed the blood off of Taehyung’s face. His cheek was tender, and blood still seeped out of it like lava. Taehyung found himself looking around the restaurant while she cleaned it. There were a bunch of pictures lining the walls, mostly people Taehyung didn’t recognize. There was President Dachun and… “Woah!” Taehyung exclaimed. “Is that Avatar Korra?!”

“Oh, of course. We’re one of the most popular restaurants in Gaoling!” the woman said. She laid her arm down on the counter. “I think she came here about forty years ago. Really liked our traditional roast duck!”

Taehyung’s stomach grumbled. Roast duck sounded phenomenal, especially after not eating all day.

The woman must have noticed the way Taehyung’s hands moved to his stomach. “Tell you what, after I clean you up I’ll make you a nice meal,” she said. 

The tears sprung to Taehyung’s eyes again, “I would… really love that.”

Yoongi left the room, and Taehyung heard water start running upstairs. Did Yoongi know this woman would readily offer him food? Taehyung smiled. So, that cold attitude was just an act… Who knew the undefeated Agust D was a big softie?

  


> **259 AG**

“If we are going to find the Avatar, we need to connect with the spirits.”

“Who’s to say Avatar Korra didn’t die in the Avatar State?”

“She didn’t.”

“How do you know for certain?”

“The spirits would have let us know if she had, I’m sure of it.”

The discussion came to a halt when another member of the White Lotus barged into the cramped room. His white hair was a mess, drenched in sweat and tangled from running all the way here. “I apologize for interrupting, but I have dire news,” he explained. His eyes fell on a man and women across the table. They sat on each side of their son, Seokjin. The two remained seated as the man spoke, “We finally made a breakthrough in the interrogation of the Red Lotus member we apprehended last week. We know the identity of the mole, or identities rather.”

“There are multiple people?”

“Yes,” the man replied. Seokjin watched him with careful eyes as he listed the names of his parents and him. 

People jumped to their feet in an instant, all members in the room raising their fists at the three of them. Seokjin’s father stood with his hands up. “There’s no need for violence, friends. Let’s talk this through like civilized adults, yeah?” 

But civility wasn’t an option.

Seokjin was only beginning to get to his feet when a light flashed through the room and a crack of electricity flew from a man’s hand. The bolt hit his father, sparks flying from his flesh. He convulsed, collapsing to the floor. His limbs splayed out beneath him. Seokjin took a few steps toward him but stopped when his mother grabbed the collar of his shirt. “Seokjin, get out of here and tell the members of the Red Lotus what has happened,” she said.

He nodded stiffly, walking past the motionless members of the White Lotus, sweating and strained by his mother’s bloodbending. 

The image faded, and Seokjin gathered his bearings. Fog… no moisture but heavy on the lungs. He turned in circles, seeing nothing but gray. _Where am I?_ Then, he remembered. The White Lotus captured his parents, Seokjin failed them and because of his failure he went through a spirit portal and threw himself into the Fog of Lost Souls. 

He could hear the souls swimming around him. Anger, sadness, regret, fear—everything. It was impossible to tell how many people were incarcerated in this spirit’s fog. Impossible to tell how long he had been in there, though thinking about it now, it couldn’t have been long. He would die of dehydration soon. 3 days and he would perish, though it felt as though he had been trapped in the fog for an eternity. His mind was festering, blood boiling, replaying the same memory of his failure on repeat. Failing his parents was his darkest memory.

Tossing himself in here was the biggest failure. Now he was stuck here when he could be searching for the Avatar. He would never please his parents. He would die. Alone.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” 

Seokjin whipped around at the sound of a voice. There were crazy souls trapped here, and he didn’t want to encounter anyone else.

“This whole thing is a spirit that infects people’s minds. I think this spirit is my favorite… besides Wan Shi Tong of course.”

The voice came closer until Seokjin could see the silhouette of a person standing next to some sort of animal, a dog maybe. 

“Hi,” the voice said, “my name’s Namjoon.”

The silhouette broke through the fog, revealing a handsome young man with ash brown hair. Seokjin took a step back when the animal accompanying the stranger trotted up to him. It was a fox, like the ones that collected knowledge for the Spirit Library. 

“The foxes told me a human threw himself into the Fog of Lost Souls, so we came to look for you,” Namjoon said. The fox circled Seokjin, sniffing him and letting out a yip. “He says you’re the human. I… guess I’m here to help you get out?”

“Why?” Seokjin asked. He relaxed a bit and the fox nuzzled his hand. 

“Wan Shi Tong says humans are disgusting creatures, and I know he wouldn’t want a corpse in the Spirit World. Well, actually, he and many other spirits would rather have no humans here,” he said.

Seokjin crossed his arms, “Aren’t you a human?”

“I’ve lived here all my life, I’m friends with all the spirits—even Koh!”

“The face stealer?” 

Namjoon nodded, “Anyway, we should get out of here before the fog spirit tries to infect my mind. I don’t think I have any dark memories he could use to haunt me, but better safe than sorry, right?”

The fox nudged Seokjin forward. “Say I go with you, what do you want in return?”

Namjoon debated the question a moment before answering. “I want to go to the physical world with you and search for new knowledge. I want to find the spirits that left the spirit world and bring them back so the Avatar can close the three spirit portals Avatar Korra left open.”

“The Avatar after Korra hasn’t been found yet,” Seokjin replied.

“Oh, I can find the Avatar. Raava has a strong spirit I’m sure I can find her.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think of the first chapter!!


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